Best Scientific
Breakthrough (2011)

Alan Levander and Team, Rice University

The asthenosphere and lithosphere don't usually concern us, but thankfully a brainiac team over at Rice University led by Alan Levander has them on their radar. There's a huge section of land known as the Colorado Plateau; it has a "rising while it's sinking" quality that's had scientists scratching their heads for a while. Seems the bottom layers (that's the asthenosphere) are pushing up, while the top layers (the lithosphere) are sinking down. This rising-while-it's-sinking phenomenon might not mean a lot to you and me, but once Levander and his team figured out that's what was going on with the Colorado Plateau, geologists all over the world got real excited. Finally, the mystery was solved.